Our yard is about the size of a postage stamp. And if you add in the backyard, it is about the size of one of those elaborate, more expensive stamps. (This was one of the major drawbacks when we bought....obviously, the positives outweighed this issue...)
When we bought this house a couple of years ago we had zero yard equipment or tools. No rakes. No shovels. And definitely no lawnmower. So, we just started to use the neighbor's lawn guy. He was great... every Thursday we would come home to a freshly manicured lawn, but I was always a little irked that we were paying someone to mow our little postage stamp. Our little postage stamp that takes less than 30 minutes to lawn, edge and weed.
2 years have gone by and we still have the weekly lawn service. BUT -- things are about to change. I proposed a 'plan' to the husband a couple of weeks ago and he went for it.
The plan goes something like this:
1. we get rid of the yard service.
2. we buy a lawnmower - garage sale or Craig's list would be the best
3. we mow the lawn ourselves
4. we hire our cleaning people again
That is right - we get rid of one frivolous luxury only to add a different one. For what we were paying the weekly lawn service, we can hire the cleaning people again and everything comes out even.
This seems like a wonderful plan to me....don't you think?
6 Additional Thoughts:
Sounds good to me! With the house cleaning you really get the most out of your "luxury" :)
Oooh that's a tough one! I think if it were me, I'd keep the lawn service - that way it gets done, you don't HAVE to be there when they are doing it and you don't have to bother getting all dirty doing yardwork. Plus, do you have a place to store yard equipment/tools? I'm more weary of people coming into my home to do any work and prefer being there when they are doing something - but that's not always possible. Recently we had movers deliver furniture and hubs mother was there but walked out of the room and our ipod touch was stolen (the guy admitted to it and we're getting it back) but anyway, long story short, I'd keep the lawn cutting service. How about hiring a kid from the neighborhood - that may be cheaper (if it's price you're concerned about)!
Um yes!!! Housecleaners= marital bliss!!! You should get one of the non-motorized push lawn mowers (I am sure there is a more technical term for this). Young House love blog (if you aren't reading you should be) blogged about this awhile back. With a small lawn, this would be a wonderful option for you!! Plus it'll burn more calories and it really won't take much longer from what I hear. Also, way more environmentally friendly!
Have a great weekend!
I support this decision. Make it happen stat.
Yes! I wouldn't have to think twice. Enjoy!
This is how we run our household! The way I see it, our yardwork takes one hour max. Cleaning the whole house from top to bottom takes about four, so we're getting better use of our $$$ by having our cleaning lady.
To the commenter who said something about not having to be there when the yard people are...I never stay home while my cleaning lady is here. She has a key to our house and comes and goes on the days she works for us.
good luck & let us know how it turns out!
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